some of the most interesting examples

can be found in and around Amsterdam.

Here in the narrow streets at the historic old town,

you'd struggle to build anything new.

But I'm on my way to meet some architects who found

a way around that problem.

Hello.

Hello.

Architect Marthinj Pool is using possibly the most sustainable

method of all.

Repurposing buildings that already exist.

This way.

Let's go.

His team is transforming Amsterdam's old bridge houses

into hotel suites.

They were used for hundreds of years

to control the city's canals and waterways.

We love working with existing structures.

It is actually to open up a dialogue,

digging up about its past.

Modernising old buildings can be an expensive undertaking,

but it is more environmentally friendly.

Construction and demolition debris account

for the largest waste streams in terms of mass in the EU.

And that's before you get to the energy

costs of actually building.

Because that stored energy cost is...

it's something you can't see, it's not tangible,

but it is valuable, isn't it?

Actually it's a pity that carbon is not

measured in making a business case, but I do

believe that that's the way to move forward,

and whatever holistic appreciation

of the construction economic value,

historical value embodied energy in its materials.

The company that runs SWEETS hotel

is renting the Bridge Houses from the city for 20 years

as a financial investment.

So far they have 28.

I want to see another one.

I think that's it over there.

Doesn't look like much, although this

must be one of the coolest rooms in Amsterdam.

This one was built in the 1960s.

Wow.

A lot of glass.

The challenge is to create comfort and privacy

in a structure that was designed to do something else entirely.

Oh, the bridge is going up.

Wow.

The city is going on around us.

Maybe we need to change the way we think about hotel rooms

if we're going to be repurposing industrial buildings

into places to stay.

But can this idea of repurposing be used on a wider scale

to tackle, for example, the global housing shortage?

The Netherlands alone is facing a deficit

of nearly 300,000 homes.

These modular units in nearby Alkmaar

are designed to be repurposed and never demolished.

This lot are about to start their first life

as accommodation for young people, but when that's done,

they can be rejigged and even relocated.

So this is a studio flat for one person.

Yeah.

How could that be adapted or changed?

One thing you can do is you can link to,

and then you would have an apartment for elderly couple.

You can also make an office building out of it.

We always compared to giant Legos.

Giant Lego bricks with low carbon footprints.

They're made from sustainable wood rather than concrete.

It's a little bit cheaper or the same price as a traditional

build.

The advantage is that it's much faster, much more sustainable,

and it's much better quality.

It's certainly quick.

What's so incredible is that three weeks ago this

was just foundations.

There was no structure here at all.

That's correct.

And in three weeks' time, people will be moving it.

In a country where space on land comes at a premium,

the Netherlands has found another way.

This is an entire floating neighbourhood just outside

Amsterdam.

Almost a third of the country is situated below sea level.

So projects like this may be essential in creating

more housing.

We all know that sea water levels and river

levels are rising.

A lot of people live near the water.

Take for instance big cities, like Manila

in the Philippines or Jakarta in Indonesia,

they are being flooded.

They're sinking.

Nearly 100 homes are already here, and by the time

it's finished that number will have doubled.

Each unit is pulled into place by boat

and supported by buoyant concrete tubs.

So just 10 minutes from the centre of Amsterdam here.

The city centre is that way where everything is so compact,

but here it feels so spacious, so quiet.

I could definitely live here.

The projects I've visited suggest

there is no one blueprint for success.

Although they do all seem to be sacrificing low upfront

costs for something bigger.

Flexibility and adaptability for the future.

And from what I've seen the Netherlands

is definitely taking a lead role when

it comes to innovation driven by the demand for more

housing and the need to think imaginatively to create it.